Utilities and other large-scale electrical energy providers generally rely on a number of automated systems and tools to efficiently and safely distribute electricity over distribution grids. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Asset Management Systems (AMS) are used to model the location of power system equipment and the network connectivity. Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Distribution Management Systems (DMS) and Outage Management Systems (OMS), Customer Information Systems (CIS), Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS), Information Storage & Retrieval (ISR) system, Communication (COM) Servers, Front-End Processors (FEPs) and Field Remote Terminal Units (FRTUs) are typically used by supervisory personnel to monitor and control in real-time the electrical grid as modeled by the GIS/AMS.
Generally, DMS, OMS and SCADA components present information with respect to performance of utility distribution grid structures in delivering electrical power to end users in centralized consoles or offices in an integrated manner. Such centralized structures generally require the design and maintenance and consideration of detailed component and connectivity models and schematics by service personnel in order to ensure safe and reliable electrical power delivery. Maintaining such models to accurately represent the grid components actually deployed and in use with large-scale grids in a timely and effective manner presents a number of challenges to effective and efficient use of utility personnel.